Toku is growing, and in more ways than one. At first nervous of his new surroundings and quick to shy away from human interaction (especially strangers and our neighbors,) but he’s slowly coming around.
Anxiety is tough for everyone. We all go through it at some stage, in varying degrees and periods. It’s somewhat painful to leave our premises only to hear Toku whimper and scratch at the book of the door as we walk away. No two dogs, or breeds, are identical. There is no bulletproof rule book for dealing with shy/anxious but we’re here to help him grow, not accommodate insecurities. It’s all a process, one that we’re bringing as much patience and understanding as we can into.
Toku won’t play with his toys and we’re uncertain he knows how. Back at the shelter, he seldom observed nor interacted with other dogs outside of his own litter so we can’t say for certain whether or not he’s been shown the ropes (quite literally.) We’ve therefore agreed to short-term foster another dog whose owner recently passed away. Something we didn’t intend on doing given that we reside on the 3rd storey but could not let slip the opportunity to better socialize, familiarize and encourage Toku.
My girlfriend seems to think that underneath his shy and anxious exterior lies an absurdly playful and rambunctious pup eager to meet, greet and change the world. The more time I spend with Toku, the more I am slowly but surely becoming inclined to agree with her.
